Observations of Buried Lake Drainage on the Antarctic Ice Sheet

D. Dunmire, J.T.M. Lenaerts, Alison Banwell, N. Wever, J. Shragge, S. Lhermitte, R. Drews, F. Pattyn, J.S.S. Hansen, I.C. Willis, J. Miller, E. Keenan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)
51 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Between 1992 and 2017, the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) lost ice equivalent to 7.6 ± 3.9 mm of sea level rise. AIS mass loss is mitigated by ice shelves that provide a buttress by regulating ice flow from tributary glaciers. However, ice-shelf stability is threatened by meltwater ponding, which may initiate, or reactivate preexisting, fractures, currently poorly understood processes. Here, through ground penetrating radar (GPR) analysis over a buried lake in the grounding zone of an East Antarctic ice shelf, we present the first field observations of a lake drainage event in Antarctica via vertical fractures. Concurrent with the lake drainage event, we observe a decrease in surface elevation and an increase in Sentinel-1 backscatter. Finally, we suggest that fractures that are initiated or reactivated by lake drainage events in a grounding zone will propagate with ice flow onto the ice shelf itself, where they may have implications for its stability.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2020GL087970
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume47
Issue number15
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Keywords

  • Antartica
  • glaciology
  • GPR
  • hydrofracture
  • hydrology
  • meltwater

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Observations of Buried Lake Drainage on the Antarctic Ice Sheet'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this